Fall Carlisle auction sees improvement

Claimed to have been owned by Jackie Gleason, this 1941 Buick Super convertible sold for $60,000 at the Fall Carlisle auction. (Ron Kowalke photo)

Since Carlisle Events moved both its spring and fall auctions to a two-evening, Thursday and Friday format in 2009, the sales held in conjunction with the Carlisle (Pa.) swap meets have hit their stride.

Not that the previous Friday evening and all-day Saturday format faired poorly, but reviewing the past three Carlisle fall auctions supports the change. In 2008, under the previous format, sell-through achieved 36 percent on 191 total consignments. Last year’s fall sale — moved to consecutive evenings — showed an improved 41 percent sell-through on 256 consignments. This year’s fall sale, held Sept. 30-Oct. 1, achieved 48 percent sell-through on 277 lots. Taking into account the recent economic woes, this improvement takes on even more significance.

Again held at the Carlisle Expo Center located one block from the Carlisle Fairgrounds, the site of the swap meet and car corral, the event featured a strong lineup of vehicles, including what has become a traditional run each night of low-mileage, original cars and trucks. Featured examples of these “survivors” include an air-cooled 29,000-mile 1929 Franklin sedan that sold for $10,000, an 18,000-mile ’58 MGA roadster that sold for $23,750 and a 5,500-mile, rare Pony Edition ’79 Ford Pinto hatchback that sold for $6,750. The latter was stored for 27 years, from 1980 until 2007.

Other FoMoCo products that showed both low odometer readings and performance heritage included a 22,000-mile ’67 Ford Galaxie 500 hardtop, equipped with the 390-cid V-8, that sold for $19,750; a 25,000-mile ’68 Ford Mustang GT/California Special hardtop that sold for $13,000; and, a 41,000-mile ’70 Mercury Cougar XR7 convertible that sold for $18,000.

High-sale honors resulted in a tie between a fuel-injected 1965 Chevrolet Corvette convertible and a Cobra Jet 428-cid-powered ’70 Shelby Mustang GT500 fastback. Each sold for $84,000.

Other noteworthy sales included a Hemi 392-cid-powered ’58 Chrysler Imperial convertible, 1 of 675 produced, that sold for $76,500 and a ’41 Buick Super convertible coupe that was claimed to have once been the property of the late entertainer Jackie Gleason that sold for $60,000.

Perhaps the “best bang for buck” sale was the 1954 Ford Crestline Skyliner hardtop that was purchased for $12,000. The brilliant red Skyliner featured a glass roof insert and sold for less than current market value for the fine condition in which it was presented.

Also a tradition at a Carlisle auction, each evening’s sale began with about a dozen modern used cars and trucks that were sold at no reserve to raise money for the local Salvation Army chapter.